Behavioral health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, affect a significant number of Americans each year. In 2017 one in eight youths between 12 to 17 years old experienced a major depressive episode compared to one in 14 adults. Approximately one in three people in the US have experienced an anxiety disorder in their lifetimes, with women experiencing anxiety at rates two times that of men. Further, rates of these illness have increased since the coronavirus pandemic came to the US. Poor diet quality has been implicated with the development of depression, anxiety and other psychiatric conditions given the essential role of key dietary nutrients in the body's nervous and hormone systems. Nutrients naturally found in food and beverages--such as tryptophan, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, phenylalanine, tyrosine, histidine, choline, and glutamic acid--are critical for the production of the key neurotransmitters--serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine--involved in the regulation of mood, appetite and cognition. Therefore, improving diet quality may contribute to the prevention and treatment of these illnesses.

Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) researcher Gail Woodward-Lopez contributed to a collaborative narrative review that describes the global burden and features of depression and anxiety and summarizes the latest scientific evidence on diet and nutrition in the prevention and management of these illnesses. The review concludes with a call for nutritional medicine to be incorporated into psychiatric practice to support individuals in achieving a healthy dietary pattern, one rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein foods. It further recommends additional research be conducted to better understand how diet affects behavioral health disorders. The review was published online in the journal Nutrition Reviews on May 24, 2020. The study was conducted in collaboration with Penny Kris-Etherthon and Kristina Petersen of the Pennsylvania State University, Department of Nutritional Sciences; Joseph Hibbeln of the National Institute of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Daniel Hurley of the Mayo Clinic; Valerie Kolick of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Sevetra Peoples of the George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health; and Nancy Rodriguez of the University of Connecticut, Department of Nutritional Sciences. The study was conducted as a project of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Science Board, of which NPI's Woodward-Lopez was a member. The study is available online. 

Schools across the nation are instituting new policies to remove chocolate milk from their meal programs in an effort to reduce students' added sugar intake. These efforts have some stakeholders concerned that this policy may lead to a decrease in students' milk consumption--specifically the essential nutrients that milk provides such as calcium, protein and vitamin D--and may also lead to an increase in milk waste. However, the latest study from the Nutrition Policy Institute shows promising results that may alleviate these concerns. The study found that although the number of students that selected milk during lunch dropped by about 14% in the year the chocolate milk removal policy was implemented, there was no significant difference in the proportion of milk wasted before and after policy implementation. Further, although milk consumption declined by about 1 ounce per student post policy implementation, there was no significant decrease in the average amount of calcium, protein, or vitamin D consumed from milk. Finally, the chocolate milk removal policy did result in a significant reduction in added sugar consumption from milk, by an average of 3.1 grams per student. These results suggest that a school meal chocolate milk removal policy may reduce middle and high school students' added sugar intake without compromising intake of essential nutrients nor increasing milk waste. The study was conducted by NPI affiliated researchers Hannah Thompson and Esther Park from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in collaboration with NPI researchers Lorrene Ritchie and Wendi Gosliner, and Kristine Madsen from the Berkeley Food Institute and UC Berkeley School of Public Health. The study was published online on August 27, 2020 in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. The full study is available online.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (ITFPS-2) captures data on caregivers and their children over the first 6 years of the child's life after WIC enrollment to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children receiving WIC. The study, also known as the 'Feeding My Baby' study, previously produced four reports, the Intentions to Breastfeed Report, Infant Year Report, Second Year Report, and Third Year Report. The latest Fourth Year Report, which focuses on findings from children's fourth year of life, shows that consistent 4-year participation in WIC is associated with a higher quality diet among 4-year-old children. It also finds that caregivers who participate in WIC until their child is 4 years old truly value the education and support they receive through the program. In fact, the top reported reasons for continued participation are the education received from WIC (94 percent), the WIC food package (93 percent), and the perception that WIC personnel listen when participants talk about their child's health (91 percent). Findings from this new report also demonstrate how WIC nutrition education improves families' eating behaviors. Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) director Lorrene Ritchie and NPI affiliated researcher Lauren Au from the University of California, Davis are co-authors of the new report. The study was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and conducted in collaboration with researchers from Westat including Christine Borger, Thea Zimmerman, Tracy Vericker, Jill DeMatteis, and Laurie May, as well as Shannon Whaley from Public Health Foundation Enterprise (PHFE) WIC and Linnea Sallack from Altarum Institute. The full Fourth Year Report, along with a brief summary of the study's findings, is available online.

Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) director and cooperative extension specialist Lorrene Ritchie presented new information on the challenges faced by California families with young children that participate in the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The presentation, titled "WIC Participation: Why do Families Stay and What has Changed During COVID-19?" was part of the California WIC Association and California WIC program's annual conference and trade show, which was held virtually on Friday August 28, 2020. Ritchie co-presented with collaborators Susan Sabatier at the California Department of Public Health and Shannon Whaley at the Public Health Foundation Enterprise (PHFE) WIC. They shared data from three studies: a state wide survey of WIC participants completed in 2019 prior to the pandemic as well as preliminary data from interviews and surveys with WIC families in Los Angeles County being completed this year. Funding for NPI's work was provided by The David & Lucille Packard Foundation and the California Department of Public Health.